NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Debuts: ASUS and MSI

We snagged a couple of GeForce GTX 560 cards from MSI and Asus for this launch. Both of the cards feature completely custom designs with proprietary coolers, PCBs, etc.

MSI N560GTX Twin Frozr II - Click To Enlarge

The MSI N560GTX Twin Frozr II uses MSI second-gen dual-fan cooler design. Like MSI’s other “Military Class II” components, the N560GTX Twin Frozr II sports a mix of Hi-C and solid capacitors and solid ferrite core chokes. The board is also outfitted with a 6+1 phase PWM design a discrete MOSFET heatsink (under the Twin Frozr II cooler), and a metal anti-warp support bracket on the PCB. The GPU on the MSI N560GTX Twin Frozr II clocks in at a spritely 870MHz, with 1740MHz CUDA cores, and 1GB of 1020MHz (4080MHz effective) GDDR5 RAM. Outputs on the MSI N560GTX Twin Frozr II consist of a pair of dual-link DVIs and a single mini-HDMI. Included with the card is a typical assortment of user’s manuals and driver / utility discs, a pair of dual-Molex-to-PCIe 6-Pin power adapters, a DVI to VGA adapter, and a mini-HDMI to full-sized HDMI adapter. Also include with the card is a code to download the full version of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light—kudos to MSI for including a game with a graphics card designed for gamers.

Asus GTX 560 DirectCU II TOP - Click To Enlarge

Like the MSI N560GTX Twin Frozr II, the Asus GTX 560 DirectCU II TOP edition card here features a dual-fan cooler and custom PCB. The “Direct CU” in the products name is a reference to the cooler used on the card; it has multiple, copper (symbol CU on the Periodic Table) heat-pipes that make direct contact with the GPU, which makes heat transfer more efficient. The heat-pipes snake up through an array of thin aluminum heatsink fins, where a pair of quiet fans cool things down. The outputs on the Asus GTX 560 DirectCU II TOP are identical to MSI’s (two dual-link DVIs and a single mini-HDMI) and the bundle is also similar, expect Asus doesn’t include any games with their card. Asus does, however, clock the GTX 560 DirectCU II TOP significantly higher. The GTX 560 DirectCU II TOP has a 925MHz GPU clock, with 1850MHz CUDA cores, and 1GB of 1050MHz (4200MHz effective) GDDR5 memory. Those clocks will make the GTX 560 DirectCU II TOP one of the faster GeForce GTX 560 cards on the market. At this point, we’re only aware of one card that will ship with higher clocks—the Zotac GeForce GTX 560 AMP! edition, which will have a 950MHz GPU.